How is Geertz treated upon arrival in Bali? When and how does this change?

How does the Balinese obsession with cock fighting reflect their sense of self?

What is the handler's job? Why is this job important?

What observations does Geertz make about the rules of cock fighting? Do the Balinese respect the rules? Why or why not?

What is Bentham's concept of "Deep Play"? How is it relevant to cock fighting?

Geertz says that the cockfight provides a "commentary upon the whole matter of sorting human beings into fixed hierarchical ranks and then organizing the major parts of collective existence around that assortment." The cockfights don't reinforce the patters of Balinese life; they comment on them. Perhaps the first question to ask as you go back to the essay is: "What is that commentary? What do the cockfights say? What don't they say?

Geertz says that cock fighting is an "art form" (326). What does he mean by this? Explain the conclusion "Its function, if you want to call it that, is interpretative: it is a Balinese reading of Balinese experience; a story they tell themselves about themselves" (329).